Comments about ‘Middle-aged Mormon Man: I am a Mormon, and I have questions’

I have long said if the LDS church truly was open to dialogue and helping people
find the truth, they would create a website where anyone could go with questions
and these questions would be displayed for the all the public to see, without
eliminating questions that are tough to answer to disprove things LDS prophets
have said in the past(and yes, there are many). And no, such a thing does not
exist.

The lds church could then provide an official answer to each
question, either refuting the "evidence" provided or giving their
official explanation.

The church is all too willing to publicly show
their answers to the easy questions, but do not allow public comments/answers to
the tough questions and the points in history that don't correspond to what
they claim to believe in.

I see it as somewhere between a Mormon side
and an anti-Mormon website. The doubters/anti-Mormons can ask questions and
provide evidence of their findings, and then the church can respond.

Sadly the LDS church does not encourage finding the truth in all situations.

Numbers 2 and 4 refer to believing that what Mormon prophets/apostles say comes
from God. And yet, Mormons often get uncomfortable when nonbelievers point to
numerous times LDS prophets/apostles have said things that are wrong. Flat out
wrong. If you aren't aware of this, I'm sad for you that you are so
in the dark.

If you are aware, I ask, how does one know when a
prophet/apostle is speaking for God and when he is speaking for himself?

Even Brigham Young said: ..."I have never yet preached a sermon and
sent it out to the children of men, that they may not call Scripture."

And yet Brigham Young said many things either flat out wrong, or not
supported by current LDS leadership.

The words of an LDS
prophet/apostle do not hold much weight if the excuse of "he was speaking as
a man" is simply used whenever something has been said by one of them that
is proven incorrect or does not reflect well on the church.

I find it deeply disturbing that the Mormon church has a history of
excommunicating people who bring to light inconsistences/inaccuracies in what is
told today vs. what history shows.

If the LDS church was truly
dedicated to helping people find the truth, they would welcome any fact brought
to light by researchers and scholars.

And at the very least, I would
hope the church would attempt to disprove whatever "truth" is presented
by those who don't believe, instead of simply kicking them out of the
church, which seems to be the standard procedure for those who talk about any
findings that are contrary to what the church says.

All truth comes
from God, even if doesn't go along with what Mormon leaders say.
Especially then.

I appreciate this article. I also questions that do not really affect my
testimony that I don't particularly dwell on or send out as potential
stumbling blocks to others to try to get them off the list. I also, however
have a dilemma, which I believe is similar in tone to this article, but not
quite addressed. I also have questions or experiences that, while not affecting
my testimony, DO affect my faith...or ability to act. These questions usually
surround the implementation of programs and events within the Church community
that does not quite wash with my understanding of what we profess. While I
understand that we are all imperfect and doing our best....the question remains
for me...how do you work on bettering the implementation? You see because just
letting them sit doesn't work when the error seems to self-perpetuate and
replicate. Those questions are more difficult to deal with.

Questions are not the problem. Answers are the problem. Having a question of
whether the Book of Abraham was correctly translated from the papyri is not a
problem. Finding the answer to that question is a tremendous problem.

I don't have a problem with questions OR answers. What I really don't
understand is people like Chris B. and ThinksIThink, et al who post their
questions on a blog and demand responses like that is really the way to
effectively get to the bottom of anything.

If you have questions,
people, please find a Mormon friend you trust and ask him or her. I seriously
doubt you are going to take my word for any response, nor should you. You
don't know me from a hole in the ground. Which leads me to wonder if you
really want an answer or just want to air your doubts?

How did you
learn Science, History or English in school? I doubt you just sat around posting
your questions online. We all learn from books and teachers and dialog in a
classroom (which is also taking someone's word for it). You need someone to
TALK to and be able to challenge them 1:1 if you don't understand. I get
it...you have doubts, you feel lied to. Fine. Now go find someone to talk to
about this. Don't seek help of this nature from invisible strangers.

They want OFFICIAL responses to legitimate concerns.
They don't want to ask a friend, because the answer would only be the
friends opinion. It would in no way constitute a real, official church answer.
That is why.

Chris B and I don't always agree in the sports column, but I have to agree
with a lot of what he says here. Its taken me a long time to realize that the
LDS church leadership has been wrong. So I must conclude that "if the LDS
leadership can be wrong in the past, they can be wrong now." This isn't
a crazy thing to say. It makes sense. As LDS members we are encouraged to find
out the truth through prayer and study. I don't have a problem letting my
wife know when I don't agree with the church leadership. She's cool.
We're still sealed.

Beautifully written post Brother! Thank you!It's interesting how
everything written here just strikes me as "of course that's the way it
is" for this convert of approx. 25 years.But I guess so many people
are on different levels of understanding that sometimes it is important to bring
it down to a basic explanation, so that those who are truly seeking can find
some added measure of understanding.

Do you really think they are asking you for these answers? More likely they are
asking you to do some critical thinking. I am sure they already have searched
out the answers on their own. If you can get over your fear of asking your
questions out loud, instead of "boxing" them, you will find the
information is out there, from reliable sources, including church approved sites
such as lds.org, FAIR, Neal A. Maxwell foundation, there is also mormonthink.com
where you can get the facts and the churches side as well as the doubters and
decide for yourself. In the end if you can get past the fear, knowledge is
power.

So go make an appointment and ASK. I have friends who've
spoken with Apostles and other leaders about their questions. It's
possible. The answers they received were very open and evocative in nature.

I'm not suggesting people ask just ANY friend but rather someone
they TRUST e.g. someone who has done their research and is balanced and open in
their logic and opinions. My guess is that many GA's would welcome the
dialog, if it is couched in terms of really wanting to know vs. making
accusations. But some may not have background in the specific area of your
question. There are institute teachers at the U. and religion teachers at BYU
for example who have read lots of original writings and diaries of church
leaders and members who are accessible.

If you really want an
answer, think about the best source where you can have a real dialog. In the
end, you will have to make up your mind what to believe since nothing can be
settled by debate. My point is that just airing these questions (actually, more
like accusations) is not the way to find knowledge about any topic.

Boxing our concerns up, and being overly concerned that your "stumbling
blocks" will become someone elses doesn't do anyone any good."D&C 101:32 when "the Lord shall come, he shall reveal all
things." Well, the Lord has revealed a lot and many it too scared to study
deeper than what their Sunday School Teacher lays out each week.For
example learn about the varying versions of the First Vision on lds.org if you
read the Ensign from January, 1985, Joseph Smith’s Recitals of the First
Vision, By Milton V. Backman, Jr..

I don't know about you, but I
never got 3 of 4 of these in my Sunday meetings.

Very often those who "demand" answers aren't really looking for
answers but rather trying to find flaws (or what they view as flaws) that they
can expose. Most anyone who has served a mission knows what I am talking about.
Simply put, there are people out there who just want to argue and use "their
logic" to tear down. ChrisB's suggestion for a website with an official
answer to all questions is pointless because of the type of "fact
seekers" that it would bring.

Sincere questions are always
welcome, but questions aired in the spirit of contention are counterproductive.
Some time back Neal A. Maxwell eloquently expressed that Laman and Lemuel were
seeking answers to questions like they were playing a connect-the-dots game. The
gospel doesn't consist of a set of questions and a corresponding set of
answers to appease our curiosity, but rather reflective, thought-provoking
questions and concerns that allow individuals to grow as they figuratively
wrestle with the Lord to better understand Him and His designs. People that want
to be spoon fed and skip any type of personal growth are just as well off if
they rely on a fortune cookie.

But this is the whole point. It doesn't matter if
I ask somebody who I trust, the answer still isn't the OFFICIAL church
answer. That is what I am looking for. An official declaration or answer to my
question. If I ask 10 different members I might get 10 different answers. If not
I know for sure I won't get 10 of the same answers. And that is where the
problem with church doctrine lies.

Who do you want to respond to you? The Church leadership?
Why not write Pres. Monson or another member of the First Presidency?

The problem I have is that you and Chris (now there are 2 of you) seem to
think you are speaking for the whole wide world in wanting certain answers. I
have lots of questions about the Church too but they're not likely the same
as yours. So I have to think about where I could research the answers or who I
could talk to who is likely to be an expert in the field and will give me a
balanced answer.

For example, I have a relative who's done a
lot of research on Abrahamic texts (PhD level at a non LDS university) who I
could talk to about my questions on the origins of the Book of Abraham. Probably
a lot more satisfying answer than I'll get from a GA.

@Arizona1 re "The gospel doesn't consist of a set of questions and a
corresponding set of answers to appease our curiosity, but rather reflective,
thought-provoking questions and concerns that allow individuals to
grow..."

I wouldn't think the answer to a question, or its
veracity, depends upon WHY the question is being asked. The answer is ... an
answer, and that's about all you can say about it.

Chris B has
a very valid question. The answer is entirely independent of the reason he
asked.

Look at the responses since my first post a few minutes ago.
Darts all over the board, not one bulls-eye.